4501-7-04
Application for and renewal of class "D" and online school licenses.

[Comment: For dates and availability of material incorporated
by reference in this rule, see paragraph ( SS) in rule
4501-7-01 of the Administrative
Code.]

(A)
No person shall establish a
driver training enterprise or allow such an enterprise to continue unless the
authorizing official first applies for and obtains from the director a license
for a driver training school. The authorizing official shall ensure the driver
training school, its business enterprise, and its instructors and training
managers operate in compliance with Chapter 4508. of the Revised Code and
Chapter 4501-7 of the Administrative Code, as well as all other applicable
local, state, and federal laws. No motorcycle training or motorcycle safety
program is administered under this chapter of the Administrative
Code.

(B)
Each authorizing official
applying for a school license shall submit the "Driver Training Enterprise
Application" in writing to the department.

(C)
No driver training enterprise established
after July 1, 2001, may share the same name as any other driver training
enterprise unless the same person owns both.

(D)
The director issues driver training
school licenses. An authorizing official may apply for one or both of the
following types of driver training school licenses:

(1)
Class "D" license school, which offers
traditional classroom instruction and behind-the-wheel training that complies
with the requirements of division (C) of section
4508.02 of the Revised
Code;

(2)
Online school license,
which offers a course of study via the internet, that is the content equivalent
of the classroom instruction offered by a class "D" school.

(E)
An online provider may be, but
is not required to be, affiliated with a class '"D" driver training school.
Online providers shall provide a link to the driver training website
https://www.dps.ohio.gov/drivingschools [File Link Not Available]. The link
shall give the student easy access to the list of approved driver training
schools in Ohio.

(F)
Each
authorizing official applying for an original class "D" school license shall:

(2)
Submit
criminal background
checks regarding the authorizing official and
owner. The criminal background checks shall be dated no more than ninety days prior
to the date the "Driver Training Enterprise Application" is received by the
director. The criminal background checks shall
include:

(a)
A
state level check, which includes information maintained by the bureau of
criminal identification and investigation, or a similar government agency from
the resident state of the authorizing official and/or owner;
and;

(b)
A federal level check, provided by a government
agency, which includes information from Ohio and all other
states.

(3)
Submit proof of legal occupancy for each driver
training school. The proof shall include the parties with whom the agreement is
made, address of the property for which the agreement is made, monetary
consideration, even if none, and term of the agreement. The signatures and date
of signatures shall be included.

(4)
Submit proof of
a fire inspection for each school location that is compliant with all
applicable local, state and federal laws. The inspection shall be dated no more
than one year prior to the date the "Driver Training Enterprise Application"
was received.

(5)
Submit a copy of the training manager's
certificate of training showing the training manager has completed, within the
past ten years, a driver training school manager's course approved by the
director;

(6)
Complete and submit the "Driver Training
Enterprise Application." Within the application, the authorizing official, at a
minimum, shall:

(a)
Identify the person or
persons who will serve as the authorizing official for the school;
and

(b)
Certify the driver training
enterprise will be operated in compliance with all applicable local, state, and
federal laws.

(G)
Each authorizing official applying for an
original online school license shall:

(b)
Six hundred dollars for
review of the assessment and online driver education program;

(2)
Submit
criminal background
checks regarding the authorizing official and
owner. The criminal background checks shall be dated no more than ninety days prior
to the date the "Driver Training Enterprise Application" is received by the
director . The
criminal background checks include:

(a)
A state level check, which includes information
maintained by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, or a
similar government agency from the resident state of the authorizing official
and/or owner; and

(b)
A federal level check, provided by a government
agency, which includes information from Ohio and all other
states.

(3)
Submit proof of legal occupancy for the enterprise
office. The proof shall include the parties with whom the agreement is made,
address of the property for which the agreement is made, monetary
consideration, even if none, and term of the agreement. The signatures and date
of signatures shall be included.

(4)
Submit proof of
a fire inspection for the office that is compliant with all applicable local,
state and federal laws. The inspection shall be dated no more than one year
prior to the date the "Driver Training Enterprise Application" was
received.

(5)
Submit evidence of expertise in providing driver
education and/or driver training which may include, but is not limited to,
proof of prior or current driver's education and/or training certification or
licensure issued in Ohio or another state. The director may consider all
evidence provided;

(6)
Complete and submit the "Driver Training
Enterprise Application." Within the application, the authorizing official, at a
minimum, shall:

(a)
Identify the person or
persons who will serve as the authorizing official for the school;
and

(b)
Certify the driver training
enterprise will be operated in compliance with all applicable local, state, and
federal laws.

(7)
Submit the
complete proposed online driver education program in written format and include
full access to the proposed internet based website or portal for
review;

(8)
Complete and submit the "Online Driver Education
Security Assessment." The assessment shall be signed and
notarized.

(H)
An
original online school license may be issued to the applicant based on all
licensing requirements and the following:

(1)
The online program has met an "Acceptable" rating for all requirements as
prescribed by the director and set forth in the "Required Minimum Standards for
Online Driver Education";

(2)
The
online program has not been denied a license by the director within one year of
the date of an original application filing.

(I)
The authorizing official for an online
school shall provide the director with an "Online Driver
Education Security Assessment" describing any significant system changes
for approval within thirty days of enabling the specific changes.

(J)
Each original class "D" school license
and each online school license expires on December thirty-first of the year it
is issued and each license may be renewed.

(K)
Each authorizing official applying for a
renewal of a class "D" school license shall:

(M)
Each
authorizing official for a school, as specified in paragraph (D) of this rule,
shall ensure the department receives the "renewal requirements" by or that it
is postmarked no later than November thirtieth of the year the license
expires.

(N)
If the "renewal
requirements" are not postmarked or received by the director by November
thirtieth of each year, the authorizing official shall submit a new "Driver
Training Enterprise Application" for an original school license in accordance
with paragraph (F) or (G) of this rule, whichever is applicable.

(O)
No authorizing official shall change the
school's name, ownership, authorizing official,
or school location without prior notification to the director.

(1)
Any person to whom the ownership is
conveyed of a driver training enterprise shall submit a new "Driver Training
Enterprise Application" in accordance with paragraph (F) or paragraph (G) of
this rule, whichever is applicable. The application for an original license
shall be submitted to and approved by the director prior to the conveyance of ownership.

(2)
Any person to whom an interest in
ownership is conveyed that does not constitute a change of ownership as defined
in rule 4501-7-01 of the Administrative
Code shall submit a new "Driver Training Enterprise Application" for the
conveyance of interest to the director along with the documents required in
paragraphs (F)(2) and (F)(4) or (G)(2) and (G)(4) of this rule, whichever is
applicable to the enterprise.

(3)
No fees will be assessed for changing the location of a school or the name of a
driver training enterprise.

(4)
Any person applying to be an authorizing official of
an enterprise shall complete and submit a new "Driver Training Enterprise
Application" along with the documents required in paragraph (F)(2) or (G)(2),
whichever is applicable, of this rule. The application shall be approved by the
director.

(P)
All
license fees shall be in the form of a check or money order made payable to the
treasurer of the state of Ohio.

(Q)
No person shall submit the "Driver Training Enterprise Application" or "renewal
requirements" that are incomplete or incorrect or which contain false or
misleading information. An incomplete, incorrect, false, or misleading "Driver
Training Enterprise Application" or "renewal requirements" may be rejected,
returned to the applicant, or denied.

(R)
If a driver training enterprise or school
closes or discontinues business for any reason, the authorizing official shall
return the school license to the director immediately.